One complaint people in politics often hear; in fact one made repeatedly to me last weekend, is that politicians don’t listen. That people increasingly think this is so is perhaps surprising given that politicians spend more time and energy investigating what people want than at any time in our history. But this doesn’t mean that the growing sense of frustration is not justified. The real centres of power have become increasingly disconnected from the public as politicians have abdicated responsibility. As a result even politicians themselves feel increasingly powerless to act. Across Western Europe there is a direct correlation between the growth of voter apathy and the transfer of power to the European Union.

But all of us who believe that popular involvement in politics can be revived will have been heartened by the London Mayoral elections. 45% of voters turned out in London, a much higher turnout than elsewhere. That the position of London Mayor is directly elected helps to account for the differential turnout. An open and transparent system of election enabled the public to hold individual candidates to account for both their promises and their record. In America people have been gripped by a closely fought race for the Democratic nomination. Contrast these examples with our national Government in Westminster where a Prime Minister nobody voted for is intent on clinging to office for as long as he possibly can.

Last year the CPS published a series of ‘localist papers’ by the Direct Democracy group, of which I am a member, setting out a number of ways power could be returned to people. The proposals include establishing a right of initiative, a system of open primaries for the selection of candidates and the devolution of power from Whitehall to town halls. Only by trusting people to make more decisions and by giving everyone a real say can we hope to genuinely reconnect politics to people’s real lives.